When the Indians brought Terry Francona, Nick Swisher and Michael Bourn on prior to the 2013 season it signified a changing of eras for the Tribe. Along with a core of Michael Brantley, Corey Kluber, Carlos Santana and Yan Gomes, the Indians have had winning seasons each of the past two seasons and look to improve upon those records in 2015. With most of the team under control through 2017, they are right in the middle of their best window to win a World Series since the late 1990’s.
Depth Chart:
C: Yan Gomes – Roberto Perez
1B: Carlos Santana – Jesus Aguilar (AAA)
2B: Jason Kipnis
3B: Lonnie Chisenhall – Mike Aviles
SS: Jose Ramirez – Francisco Lindor (AAA)
LF: Michael Brantley
CF: Michael Bourn – Tyler Holt (AAA)
RF: Brandon Moss – David Murphy – Ryan Raburn
DH: Nick Swisher – Zach Walters (DL)
SP1: Corey Kluber
SP2: Carlos Carrasco
SP3: Trevor Bauer
SP4: Danny Salazar – Gavin Floyd (DL)
SP5: T.J. House – Zach McAllister – Shaun Marcum
CP: Cody Allen
RHP: Bryan Shaw – Scott Atchison – C.C. Lee
LHP: Marc Rzepczynski – Kyle Crockett – Nick Hagadone – Bruce Chen
LRP: Josh Tomlin
New Faces: Brandon Moss & Gavin Floyd
The Indians will be returning almost their entire roster from the 2014 season (excluding Asdrubal Cabrera and Justin Masterson who were traded mid-season), but they did make a couple additions adding Moss through trade and Floyd through free agency. Moss will take the place of David Murphy as the starting right fielder and unfortunately Floyd will most likely take Jason Giambi’s spot on the disabled list. Both players started out great in 2014, but ended the year with an injury, so there is as much risk as upside with the new additions. At the moment, at least Moss looks healthy.
Departures: Jason Giambi
Other than the two former All-Stars already mentioned, Giambi’s contract was the only to expire after last season. This is great for the Indians as the 25 man roster will immediately become more versatile and wasted at bats can now be given high potential players like Zach Walters or Tyler Holt.
GOODYEAR, AZ – FEBRUARY 27: Francisco Lindor #67 of the Cleveland Indians bats during a spring training game against the Cincinnati Redsat Goodyear Ballpark on February 27, 2014 in Goodyear, Arizona. (Photo by Rob Tringali/Getty Images)
Impact Rookies: Francisco Lindor
There will be plenty of young faces on the 2015 Indians including starting short stop Jose Ramirez, the one rookie everyone in Cleveland is clamoring for is Lindor. He was ranked fourth best prospect in all of baseball by MLB.com in February and has been ranked in the top 40 by Baseball America, MLB.com and Baseball Prospectus every year since 2012. While he won’t break camp with the team, a strong performance in AAA Columbus could see him in Cleveland before too long.
Another rookie to look out for is third baseman, Giovanny Urshela. With questions about Lonnie Chisenhall at third both offensively and defensively, Urshela has become a popular name in Cleveland. Incredibly capable with the glove, if he can maintain his 2014 numbers (.280/.334/.491) for another season, he could make his Major League debut in 2015.
CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 23: Starter Danny Salazar #31 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the first inning against the Kansas City Royals at Progressive Field on September 23, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Position Battles:
While officially the Indians haven’t selected a fourth or fifth starter, if they are not Danny Salazar and T.J. House, it will be a huge surprise. The only real roster spot open is in the bullpen, where Zach McAllister, Josh Tomlin, Bruce Chen, C.C. Lee, Nick Hagadone, Scott Downs, Anthony Swarzak and others will compete for one to two spots. Unless the Indians decide to do the smart thing and dump Ryan Raburn before the year starts, this is likely the only position in flux.
CLEVELAND, OH – JUNE 19: Nick Swisher #33 of the Cleveland Indians celebrates with Michael Bourn #24 after hitting a walk off grand slam in the tenth inning of the game against the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim at Progressive Field on June 19, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. The Indians won 5-3. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
Injury Concerns: Yes
This could be the downfall of the 2015 Tribe as many extremely important cogs are coming off injury riddled seasons or off-season surgery. Michael Bourn and Nick Swisher each missed much of 2014 with leg injuries (Bourn’s hamstring, Swisher’s knee) and both had surgery near the end of the 2014 season. The pair comprises more than a third of the Indians total salary, so their health is paramount. Recovering from an in season oblique strain, Jason Kipnis injured his finger lifting weights and needed surgery on that as well last fall. Brandon Moss had hip surgery prior to his trade to Cleveland and Floyd broke his elbow throwing a pitch for the Braves early last year. Already this Spring, Floyd has reaggravated the broken elbow in his throwing arm and will be out indefinitely. While Moss has returned to action and is already mashing home runs in the desert, Swisher has yet to get into game action and is at least a little behind schedule.. In short, yes, the Indians have injury concerns. While all players are expected to be ready for Opening Day in Houston, they will still have to make it through Spring Training in one piece.
TOKYO, JAPAN – NOVEMBER 16: Carlos Santana #41 of the Cleveland Indians hits a single in the eighth inning during the game four of Samurai Japan and MLB All Stars at Tokyo Dome on November 16, 2014 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Atsushi Tomura/Getty Images)
Most Important Player: Carlos Santana
The Indians had the AL Cy Young and third place finisher for the MVP in 2014 and neither of those players are the most important. This is generally because even with those incredible, once in a lifetime performances, the team still finished in third. One player who could make a difference in the standings is Santana, assuming he can be more 2013 (.268/.377/.455) than 2014 (.231/.365/.427). The man is a walk machine and it would be more of a surprise if he finished outside of the top five in OBP than if he finished first, but without the power that has been expected of him (he hit 27 home runs in his first full season in 2011, but has never surpassed that number), he will be an incomplete player. With a set position going into 2015, Santana may be comfortable enough for this improvement to occur.
KANSAS CITY, MO – AUGUST 30: Jason Kipnis #22 of the Cleveland Indians leaps to throw out the Kansas City Royals runner at first in the seventh inning on August 30, 2014 at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri. (Photo by Kyle Rivas/Getty Images)
X-Factor: Jason Kipnis
At his best, Kipnis was a top of the line-up hitter, an average defender at second base and an All-Star in 2013. At his worst, he was one of the worst defenders in baseball and a .240/.310/.330 hitter in 2014. The difference between those seasons was a WAR of 5.9 and 0.9. Since his oblique injury could have been largely to blame for the fall off, there is hope of Kipnis returning to form in 2015 and with a difference of at least five wins at stake, the Indians will need him to.
CLEVELAND, OH – SEPTEMBER 27: Starting pitcher Carlos Carrasco #59 of the Cleveland Indians pitches during the first inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at Progressive Field on September 27, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Key Question: Who is Cookie Carrasco?
After being traded for Cliff Lee and spending five years in the Majors, most baseball fans should have heard of Carlos Carrasco, but may not know what he did last season. After starting out in the rotation with a 6.95 ERA through four starts, he was moved to the rotation where he was brilliant. After 26 games, 43 innings, a 2.30 ERA and a .217 BAA, Carrasco was moved back into the rotation where he became the Indians best pitcher. That’s right, over their last ten starts, the best pitcher for the Indians was not the Cy Young winner (see chart below).
| Last 10 GS 2014 | GS | ERA | IP | SO | BA |
| Carrasco | 10 | 1.30 | 69 | 78 | .179 |
| Kluber | 10 | 2.19 | 70 | 92 | .235 |
This is where the number one question the Indians have this season comes into play. Will the mastery of Mickey Callaway continue or were those final ten starts just a happy accident. The Indians pitching coach, Callaway, was responsible for the turn around of Ubaldo Jimenez in 2013 as well, but away from his tutelage, Jimenez faltered. After his 2014 finale, Carrasco looks to be the Indians number two starter going into 2015. If he can repeat even half that effort, it will likely give the Indians one of the best rotations in baseball. If he can’t, it could push Josh Tomlin or Zach McAllister back into the rotation and force Trevor Bauer in the two spot and nobody wants to see that.
DETROIT, MI – JULY 19: Starting pitcher Corey Kluber #28 of the Cleveland Indians and catcher Yan Gomes #10 of the Cleveland Indians smile following a 6-2 win over the Detroit Tigers in game one of a doubleheader at Comerica Park on July 19, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)
Best Case Scenario: World Series bound! ESPN ranked the Indians as the fourth best team in baseball and that could be a fair ranking if everyone stays healthy and there isn’t a total regression among the pitching staff. With a healthy roster and great seasons from Santana, Kipnis and Carrasco as listed above, there is no reason the Indians couldn’t win the division and go deep into the play-offs. Especially considering Kansas City’s losses to free agency and Detroit’s age, the AL Central is wide open.
Worst Case Scenario: Legitimately, there are four contending teams in the AL Central this year and a key injury or a hot streak by any one of those teams could change things immensely early on. While the Indians still appear to be much better than Chicago, 2015 could easily end with an identical finish to 2014 (Tigers, Royals, Indians, White Sox, Twins) or something similar.
Realistic Prediction: The Indians have a set roster filled with young, but experienced players including some of the best at their position like Yan Gomes (2014 Silver Slugger winner), Michael Brantley (3rd place AL MVP & Silver Slugger winner), Corey Kluber (2014 AL Cy Young) and Cody Allen (11.8 K/9, 24 saves out of 28 chances in 2014). This team would be a complete disappointment finishing any lower than second in the division with anything worse than the top Wild Card. Expect 87-92 wins, a total that could land them in any of the three scenarios listed here.
